Knowing exactly how and when tax dollars are spent by city workers should matter to all Cincinnati residents.But what happens when dollars spent by the city don't add up?WLWT News 5 investigative reporter Todd Dykes spent hours examining a list of lawsuits filed against the city.He found that when it comes to keeping track of settlements and payouts, the city's legal team could use some accounting help.Watch this storyEvery year, the city of Cincinnati's Law Department handles hundreds of civil lawsuits."There is a great deal of volume associated with the legal work of the city of Cincinnati," Assistant City Solicitor Terry Nestor said.Even with that volume, Nestor credits city attorneys with doing a solid job during the past several years."We have been more successful in defending lawsuits over the past few years," Nestor said.But while achieving success in the courtroom, Nestor admits when it comes to keeping track of settlements and judgment payouts, the city's Law Department has dropped the ball."I think it's true that the spreadsheet that you have that lists all the city cases may not be complete," Nestor said.The spreadsheet Nestor is referencing is the result of a records request WLWT made in October asking for all civil suits filed against Cincinnati since 2009.The data, which WLWT received in physical spreadsheet form in January, indicates the city of Cincinnati paid out $4,106,556.72 in judgments dating back to 2009.The figure is in line with the Law Department's annual Judgment Fund budget allocation.But it turns out not every penny is accounted for, based on the data received by WLWT.The spreadsheet lists 1,810 lawsuits involving city agencies.In nearly 100 entries, there's no case type listed.Elsewhere, there are 18 settlements with no financial terms noted."There are two reasons for that," Nestor said. "One: It might be a non-monetary settlement. And two: It may be that, for whatever reason, that dollar amount was not entered into that particular database."WLWT also discovered the city has had to pay court costs in certain cases - money which is not included in the $4.1 million total compiled by the Law Department.In one appropriation case, the city had to pay nearly $500,000 in compensation as part of a settlement involving the Waldvogel Viaduct replacement project on Cincinnati's West Side.While that money was paid out of a fund connected to the road construction project itself, it's still considered part of a lawsuit against the city and, in theory, the financial settlement information should have been included in the data WLWT requested.When asked about the missing information, Nestor said, "Whether or not it's entered in particular in our databases is, you know, hit and miss."That hit-and-miss approach has to make it tough for city officials to determine what kinds of lawsuits are most common and exactly how much the city has paid out."I think there's an accountability problem," attorney John Helbing said.During his two decades as an attorney in Cincinnati, Helbling has been involved in a number of high-profile lawsuits filed against the city.He knows city attorneys are not accountants, but he believes there's value in keeping better records."If you're going to get better at anything, you track it," Helbling said. "It's one thing to look at the case after the fact and reach an amicable solution, but how do you prevent it from happening again?"Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black also weighed in on the data-tracking situation in the Law Department."It doesn't frustrate me because, unfortunately, it's the norm in the public sector," Black said.But Black says that's about to change, thanks to the city's new Office of Performance and Data Analytics. It is headed by Cincinnati's first chief performance officer, Chad Kenney Jr."It's going to allow us to be able to analyze and measure our work activity so that we can make strategic decisions," Black said.He continued, "What we're going to get out of this performance and data analytics effort, number one, is it will save us money in the long run. We will save money because we'll become more efficient in how we do the work. But just as important as saving money is maximizing our effectiveness in the work that we do."Having a dedicated approach to collecting and measuring data, like legal outcomes and settlement amounts, makes sense to Nestor, who hopes to make missing data entries a thing of the past."I think going forward, it will not be hit and miss because the new administration is concentrating its effort to understand the city's data, and I think that will be a good thing for all of the departments," Nestor said.There's no suggestion that the city's Law Department is misusing taxpayer money.Nestor said he can always find out financial information about a particular case, if necessary.It's just that tracking data has been lacking in the Law Department, which doesn't bode well for a city that's trying to be transparent.WLWT also wanted to know if the city violated any rules by answering the records request with a spreadsheet that included missing elements.The request WLWT made is governed by Ohio's public records law, which does allow for penalties if the requested information is not provided.In this case, a spokesman for Cincinnati said the city provided the data available at the time of the request, and that the city is not required to report the data in any particular format.He said the goal of the Office of Performance and Data Analytics is to make sure that going forward, data tracked by the city will not have any missing fields.By examining data provided by Cincinnati's Law Department, WLWT learned that discrimination cases comprised the biggest share of lawsuits, excluding foreclosure cases, from 2009 to 2014.Here's a look at the 15 most common cases by percentage:1) Discrimination 16%2) Litigation 14%3) Workers Comp 10%4) *no case type listed 9%5) Appropriation 8%6) Administrative Appeal 8%7) Civil Rights 6%8) Negligence 6%9) Arbitration 4%10) Nuisance 4%11) Appeal 4%12) Personal Injury 4%13) Building Demolition 3%14) Declaratory Judgment 2%15) Federal Section 1983 1%**Percentages add up to 99 percent. Categories that came in less than 1 percent were excluded from list.**More information: Cincinnati Law DepartmentCincinnati City ManagerMore on Cincinnati's first Chief Performance Officer

CINCINNATI —

Knowing exactly how and when tax dollars are spent by city workers should matter to all Cincinnati residents.

Every year, the city of Cincinnati's Law Department handles hundreds of civil lawsuits.

"There is a great deal of volume associated with the legal work of the city of Cincinnati," Assistant City Solicitor Terry Nestor said.

Even with that volume, Nestor credits city attorneys with doing a solid job during the past several years.

"We have been more successful in defending lawsuits over the past few years," Nestor said.

But while achieving success in the courtroom, Nestor admits when it comes to keeping track of settlements and judgment payouts, the city's Law Department has dropped the ball.

"I think it's true that the spreadsheet that you have that lists all the city cases may not be complete," Nestor said.

The spreadsheet Nestor is referencing is the result of a records request WLWT made in October asking for all civil suits filed against Cincinnati since 2009.

The data, which WLWT received in physical spreadsheet form in January, indicates the city of Cincinnati paid out $4,106,556.72 in judgments dating back to 2009.

The figure is in line with the Law Department's annual Judgment Fund budget allocation.

But it turns out not every penny is accounted for, based on the data received by WLWT.

The spreadsheet lists 1,810 lawsuits involving city agencies.

In nearly 100 entries, there's no case type listed.

Elsewhere, there are 18 settlements with no financial terms noted.

"There are two reasons for that," Nestor said. "One: It might be a non-monetary settlement. And two: It may be that, for whatever reason, that dollar amount was not entered into that particular database."

WLWT also discovered the city has had to pay court costs in certain cases - money which is not included in the $4.1 million total compiled by the Law Department.

In one appropriation case, the city had to pay nearly $500,000 in compensation as part of a settlement involving the Waldvogel Viaduct replacement project on Cincinnati's West Side.

While that money was paid out of a fund connected to the road construction project itself, it's still considered part of a lawsuit against the city and, in theory, the financial settlement information should have been included in the data WLWT requested.

When asked about the missing information, Nestor said, "Whether or not it's entered in particular in our databases is, you know, hit and miss."

That hit-and-miss approach has to make it tough for city officials to determine what kinds of lawsuits are most common and exactly how much the city has paid out.

During his two decades as an attorney in Cincinnati, Helbling has been involved in a number of high-profile lawsuits filed against the city.

He knows city attorneys are not accountants, but he believes there's value in keeping better records.

"If you're going to get better at anything, you track it," Helbling said. "It's one thing to look at the case after the fact and reach an amicable solution, but how do you prevent it from happening again?"

Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black also weighed in on the data-tracking situation in the Law Department.

But Black says that's about to change, thanks to the city's new Office of Performance and Data Analytics. It is headed by Cincinnati's first chief performance officer, Chad Kenney Jr.

"It's going to allow us to be able to analyze and measure our work activity so that we can make strategic decisions," Black said.

He continued, "What we're going to get out of this performance and data analytics effort, number one, is it will save us money in the long run. We will save money because we'll become more efficient in how we do the work. But just as important as saving money is maximizing our effectiveness in the work that we do."

Having a dedicated approach to collecting and measuring data, like legal outcomes and settlement amounts, makes sense to Nestor, who hopes to make missing data entries a thing of the past.

"I think going forward, it will not be hit and miss because the new administration is concentrating its effort to understand the city's data, and I think that will be a good thing for all of the departments," Nestor said.

There's no suggestion that the city's Law Department is misusing taxpayer money.

Nestor said he can always find out financial information about a particular case, if necessary.

It's just that tracking data has been lacking in the Law Department, which doesn't bode well for a city that's trying to be transparent.

WLWT also wanted to know if the city violated any rules by answering the records request with a spreadsheet that included missing elements.

The request WLWT made is governed by Ohio's public records law, which does allow for penalties if the requested information is not provided.

In this case, a spokesman for Cincinnati said the city provided the data available at the time of the request, and that the city is not required to report the data in any particular format.

He said the goal of the Office of Performance and Data Analytics is to make sure that going forward, data tracked by the city will not have any missing fields.

By examining data provided by Cincinnati's Law Department, WLWT learned that discrimination cases comprised the biggest share of lawsuits, excluding foreclosure cases, from 2009 to 2014.